Ski Orienteering

080906-partridgerun

Partridge Run Rogaine & Score-OSeptember 6, 2008

As advertised, this was a first time event: my first time directing
any sort of Rogaine, the first time EMPO has tried to use Partridge
Run as a venue, and the first time using the map I constructed from
various sources (primarily USGS, NYS DEC, and ArcGIS Explorer). We
experienced difficulties with all of them, but I think in the end
everyone who came out (under the threat of hurricane rains) had a
positive experience, and several folks asked if we could add more
events like this to our schedule in the future.

I had laid out the schedule to get the Rogaine folks off early;
then to deal with the Score-O people both out & in; then finally
deal with the Rogainers returning. That part of the plan worked
quite well from an organizational standpoint. Cynthia Johnson (my
main helper) and I were never swamped with people lined up looking
to register or anything like that. Of course the numbers were small,
so this was hardly a "stress" test. Still, I have reason to
believe this arrangement could continue to work. The one downside is
that the Rogainers and Score-Oers never got to mingle, and their
route discussions might have been an interesting adjunct to the
separate discussions that were had.

The weather (produced by the far flung influence of Hurricane
Hanna), actually cooperated pretty well, with the rain stopping
around 8am, and not starting up again until 1-2pm. Early Score-O
entrants had little or no rain to deal with; and the Rogainers just
had a couple of hours, by which time they were already so wet from
going through the wet woods that they hardly noticed. Most who did
notice thought it was refreshing!

While the Rogainers started first, the Score-O folks finished first,
so we'll lead with the Score-O results table (the numbers in
parenthesis on the Route Sequence are controls which the competitor
tried for but failed to find):

Entrant

Time

Controls

Penalty

Score

Route Sequence

Glen Tryson

1:58:00

8

0

8

17-16-18-19-15-14-10-11

Bob Lange

1:46:00

4

0

4

17-16-19-18-(13)

Stuart Poole

1:50:50

4

0

4

18-19-16-17

Dylan Thies

1:45:30

3

0

3

13-20-18

Frank Boscoe

2:09:36

4

2

2

15-16-19-(18)-13-(17)

Andy Chillrud

2:16:50

5

4

1

17-16-18-19-20

Dmitri Soloviev

2:12:33

3

3

0

(12)-11-14-15

Janet Tryson

2:12:33

2

2

0

15-14-(10)-(11)

Note that while they are tied in points, Bob beats Stuart on the
basis of time. However, Dmitri and Janet are actually exactly tied
under the rules as announced. This has taught me to set yet another
level of tie-breaker, which I think would be in favor of the one who
finds the most controls. But that was not in effect this year, and
so they remain tied.

Now, on to the Rogaine results:

Team

Finish

Points

Penalty

Score

Route Sequence

Pavel KornilievRita RukosuevaMasha Tikhomirova

15:52:30

110

0

110

17-16-18-19-20-13-12-6-7-11-14

Dorinda HamiltonDoug Swank

15:58:11

100

0

100

17-13-20-18-19-16-15-14-9-(10)-(8)-7

Matt & Mathew Torniainen

15:58:26

90

0

90

17-16-19-18-20-13-15-14-9-(8)-(10)

Will KennerlySue Hawkes-Teeter

15:52:05

60

0

60

15-14-11-(10)-9-8-7

Bill JamesonFrank Boscoe

DNF

10

0

10

11

Note that the final Score difference appears to have been the
result of the difficulty some teams had in finding #10 and #8 in a
reasonable amount of time. These controls were not as obviously easy
as the "top-of-the-hill" controls, but I still think were accurately
placed, though I recognize (and the "Map & Course Notes" clearly
stated) that the trails around them were at best an
approximation. Also, while it gains them nothing in their score, I
should note that the winning team arrived late, and actually started
30-35 minutes after the others. It was interesting to observe their
approach in that circumstance: they didn't panic or rush; they just
went about getting ready, and when they really were ready, they went
off. And, quite evidently they were still able to move faster and
more accurately than the rest of the field.

Finally, we come to the listing of suggestions from competitors
(and thus lessons learned) for any future such events:

For a Score-O, even within this Rogaine context, there should be
more controls set within reach during the time period allowed. [I
can see the point of this concern, and future events will offer more
controls closer to the Start/Finish; they will either not be part of
the Rogaine course, or will be of a lower point value.]

The Water stops should not all be set along the periphery of the
map. [As part of adding closer controls for the Score-O, there will
be at least one Water stop, besides the Base station, nearer to the
Start/Finish.]

I plan to follow both of these suggestions when I host another such
event. Given time (like, a year or so), I may be able to further
improve the map, so that I can eliminate the USGS template, thus be
able to fix some of the more obvious contour issues, and get
several of the major trails in better shape.

However, like everyone else, my focus is somewhat limited. So I
[and EMPO in general] need to hear from you about the sort of events
you wish that we would hold, and to which you would come. Thus the
question is: do you want EMPO to host more LONG events (2-6 hours),
such as this recent Mini-Rogaine; or are you only interested in our
more common events (1-2 hours). Your interests really will drive
what we produce, so please let us know.

And in the end (to quote Beatle Paul): Thanks to those who helped
me put on this rather sprawling and awkward event: